"I volunteer and I am happy; I study therefore I grow up."
This was the slogan that captured the mood of the audience at
Beijing's Century Theatre last night where a ceremony was held to
honor the capital's 10 most outstanding volunteers.
Certificates and trophies were awarded by representatives from
17 of the city's organizations, including the Beijing Volunteers'
Association, to the "Top 10".
The recipients were praised and recognized for their various
efforts in the voluntary sector, caring for the poor, the
handicapped and the infirm, as well as looking after injured
animals and the environment.
Wang Weili, was recognized for spending the past six years
narrating movie scripts to blind people so they could enjoy the
latest movies.
The only non-Chinese winner was 64-year-old retired US Army
colonel, David Tool, who is now a professor at Beijing
International Studies University. He told China Daily that
he volunteered to correct the awkwardly translated English signs in
Beijing because he refused to be an "old and useless" man.
The volunteers' stories also flamed the audience, many of whom
have already applied to be volunteers at next year's Olympic
Games.
As of yesterday, 281,165 people had applied to be Olympic
volunteers. The recruitment of volunteers from the mainland began
last August, while the recruitment of volunteers from Hong Kong,
Macao, Taiwan, overseas Chinese and foreign countries began
yesterday.
The construction of venues for the Beijing 2008 Olympics is on
schedule, and the organizers say they expect all venues, except the
National Stadium, to be finished by the end of the year.
(China Daily March 29, 2007)